Heart of A Dragon
by Festus Flare
Summary: Wendy Marvell, youngest mage in Fairy Tail, was left in a terrible injured state when the three Dragon Slayers were tricked and ambushed by several dark guilds. With the nearest hospital being a long way away from where they are, Natsu takes it upon himself to make sure that the girl would live to see another day. The question is, will he make it in time? One-Shot.


"Natsu, your left!"

"Oi, Gajeel! A little help, here!"

"Look out, Wendy!"

Natsu jumped behind Wendy, sending a Fire Dragon's Iron Fist towards one of the many enemies that had surrounded the three Dragon Slayers. As he did so, another one of the countless number of mages charged Gajeel, who managed to deflect the attack with his Iron Dragon's Club. Not far away, Wendy used her Sky Dragon's Talons to blow away several more advancing enemies.

"Cheh, they just keep coming!" Natsu cursed as he continued to pummel another of the enemy's forces

"These guys are just fucking annoying, god dammit!" Gajeel added in, throwing away an unconscious enemy mage away

How did the three Dragon Slayers even end up in such a predicament? Well, they are asking themselves that question themselves.

It all started when Natsu had taken an S-Rank job request which was, apparently, asking for the aid of the Dragon Slayers specifically. Thinking that it was going to be an easy way to earn money, Natsu managed to persuade Gajeel to come along while Wendy easily complied. They had to leave behind their Exceed companions, though, seeing as the request only asked for those three and no more.

Apparently, there was a giant monster that was ravaging across a town quite a distance from the guild headquarters. Master Makarov thought that it was quite a strange request, since monster hunting was usually set for a normal ranked request. Either way, he reluctantly sent off the three Dragon Slayers, silently praying for their survival. After all, they were mostly adults now with the exception of Wendy, who was at the moment only 17 years old.

What they found was something that they were not prepared for.

What seemed to be a joining of multiple dark guilds appeared at the town they were supposed to save, which wasn't even in danger or a town to begin with. It didn't take long before they realised that it was all a trap set to kill the three powerful mages. The three were then set to pit off against what seemed to be an endless amount of mages that was all targeting to kill them.

It had been hours as the three Dragon Slayers had to fight the endlessly advancing number of dark guild mages. There was no rest time in between, and the three of them were starting to feel the fatigue from fighting so many enemies at once. Even with the Arms, Vernier and Armour buffs that Wendy had supplied them, they soon realised that there were too many enemies for them to defeat.

Wendy used her Sky Dragon's Wing Blades to knock out another pair of dark mages, but three more came in place of them. She was getting worried. Her magic power was depleting fast and she didn't even have the time to cast a healing spell on the three of them. All she needed was five seconds, that was it! But there was no time to rest at all. The enemies just kept pouring in, replacing the fallen ones while they recovered. What she was mostly wondering about is why they were targeting the Dragon Slayers in the first place.

She took a glance at Gajeel, grazing his way past many enemies. As always, the eldest Dragon Slayer barely even held back as he sent all his might towards the many enemies. She liked watching Gajeel fighting, since it taught her how to keep pushing forward eventhough her magic used to be the weakest among the three. Now, she was on par with the other Dragon Slayers and could even challenge them to fights without the fear of losing gracefully. Although, she could easily see that the enemies' mass amount of numbers was starting to get to the Iron Dragon Slayer.

Avoiding an attack that barely missed her long lavish dark blue hair which was tied in twin tails, Wendy saw a glimpse of Natsu, screaming and attacking like there was no tomorrow. Natsu, who was always geared up for a fight and caused damage wherever he went. Natsu, who was the first of the three Dragon Slayers to gain motion sickness. Natsu, whose flames warmed her up even in the coldest of nights. Natsu…

The person Wendy loved.

Quickly shoving her thoughts aside, Wendy narrowly avoided an attack to her back and cast Sky Dragon's Fangs at the attacker, knocking him out cold in an instant. Her heavy panting could be heard escaping her mouth as she charged her Sky Dragon's Roar, ready to blow away more enemies with her tornado creating wail.

"Tenryuu no…" Wendy started shouting

"WENDY!"

Natsu's panicked voice came out a second too late as she felt something stab her in the back. Her magic instantly dissipated as her body grew limp and fell onto the ground in a mangled heap. She could feel something sharp and metal along her back as the pain grew more powerful for her to bear. She cursed at herself for not anticipating the attack and getting this severely wounded just by a single attack.

"I… I can… I can… still… fight…" Wendy tried to persuade her injured body as she struggled to get back up

Why was she in so much pain? She was attacked much worse before, yet she had never felt so weak and pathetic. Maybe it was due to her magic which was running dry, maybe it was some kind of magic that was used with the weapon. She didn't care at all. Wendy continued to try and get up before realising that she was lying on a pool of blood. Her own blood.

"It's working!" Wendy heard one of the dark guild mages shout "The Drain Magic is actually working!"

Drain magic, magic that sucks out the enemy's magic. Wendy couldn't believe what she had heard. All this while, as she continued to attack the offending mages, she was slowly being drained of her magic? That was pathetic! And how come she was the only one that was affected, not Natsu or Gajeel?

"ARRGH!"

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

The sound of her fellow Dragon Slayers' voices filled Wendy with hope as she still tried to rise, but was still unable to. Whatever it was that was stuck to her back, it was starting to get even heavier. For a moment, Wendy thought that she had blacked out. No, not at a time like this. Her allies need her!

Wendy saw two pairs of feet in front of her and instantly recognises them as Natsu and Gajeel's feet. They continued fighting, circling around the injured girl as they attacked the oncoming enemies. More and more of them came, which was also tiring both of the male Dragon Slayers. Wendy wondered if the effect of the Drain Magic was finally affecting them.

"Fall back!" a man shouted "Fall back and regroup!"

The many dark guild members dispersed and escaped, leaving the three Dragon Slayers alone. However, the two mages who were still standing were still on edge. They were worried in case that it was all a ruse to get the Dragon Slayers to let their guards down. When it was apparent that they were not coming back, Natsu and Gajeel quickly turned to their fellow guild member.

"Oi, what's with this piece of crap?!" Wendy could hear Gajeel's voice shouting with his deep voice "There are runes all over this sword!"

"Runes?" Wendy weakly asked as she tried to get herself to stand up

"'Drain', that's what it says" Gajeel muttered as he broke the weapon in two and threw it away

Wendy mentally slapped her face. So that was the Drain Magic she was experiencing all the while.

"Are you okay, Wendy?" Natsu asked with a concerned expression "Come on, we need to get her somewhere safe!"

"Oi, this place isn't even a town and the next one's a two hour train ride away!" Gajeel said before adding "And you know how terrible we all are with transportation, right?!"

"Then we'll run there!" was Natsu's quick response as he carried Wendy bridal-style and started sprinting to the nearest town

"Wait for me, you squinty-eyed bastard!"

Realising that she was being held in her crush's arms, Wendy couldn't help but blush. She knew that Natsu had both Lucy and Lisanna, both of which had romantic interests in him and were nearer in age. She knew that she had no way of ever winning the Fire Dragon Slayer's love, not while those two were around.

"Wendy, you're going to be alright" Natsu said as he held onto the girl tighter "We're Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayers! We're going to make it out of this alive, you hear me?!"

"A-Aye…" Wendy managed to say before she felt her stomach churning

It all came so fast. As Natsu and Gajeel sprinted to get to the nearest hospital, Wendy suddenly coughed out a spray of blood. When Natsu saw the blood spilling out of Wendy's mouth, he panicked. Running even faster than he ever has and leaving Gajeel in the dust, Natsu barely even stopped as he tried to get to the hospital in time.

"N-Natsu…" Wendy tried to talk before she suddenly coughed again, spilling out more blood

"Don't move a muscle!" Natsu ordered "You're going to make it, don't worry! I'll make sure you make it alive!"

"Wh-Why is… Why is the sky so… dark…" Wendy muttered as she curled herself up in Natsu's arms "I- I can't see the sky, Natsu… I'm- I'm scared…"

Natsu kept quiet, trying to focus all of his energy into his feet. It was times like this that he wished he had Jet's High Speed magic. Still, he persisted. There was no way he was going to let Wendy keep on being in such pain. There was no way he was going to lose her, either. He knew the pain of losing someone that was close to him. Natsu, who had grown exceptionally close to Wendy after five years together, would not let Wendy die. Not on his watch.

"Natsu…" Wendy's voice sounded even frailer and her body started to grow cold

"Save your strength!" Natsu shouted again "You're going to need as much of your strength, Wendy! And I am not losing you! Not yet!"

Wendy could feel warm tears streaking down her cheeks as she heard Natsu egging her on to keep her alive. But she was scared. Scared that it might be too late. Her body felt cold and weak, and her heartbeat was slowly declining. The Drain Magic did not only sap out her magic, it might have even sapped out her life force.

'_No…' _Wendy thought to herself as she let her tears wet her cheeks _'I don't wanna die… I… I want to stay in Fairy Tail… I want to see everyone again… I want to… I want to see Natsu again…'_

"Natsu…" Wendy tried to say one more time

"Idiot! This isn't the time to be telling me any of your damn last words!" Natsu's rage was reaching a boiling point by now "You are not going to die, you hear me?!"

"Natsu…" Wendy persistently tries to speak "I…"

Natsu cursed under his breath. Why was Wendy acting so stubborn? She was going to live! She should just be quiet and keep fighting to live! She was a powerful mage and a Dragon Slayer to boot. There was no way she was going to die anytime soon.

"I love you…"

"WENDY!"

* * *

Two Fairy Tail mages, both male Dragon Slayers, stood outside the infirmary as they waited for a doctor to come out. They were getting restless and impatient, especially since one of their own was in there and on death's door. In fact, both of them had tried to break down the doors when they were originally denied access to see the injured Sky Dragon Slayer.

Eventhough only several minutes had passed, it felt like hours to both Natsu and Gajeel. The former was pacing the hall impatiently as he muttered curses to the dark guilds responsible for the whole mess, while the latter sat on a chair and ate his scrap iron. When Natsu was finally tired of waiting, he ran to the door and was about to punch it down when a man came out wearing a doctor's uniform.

"Wendy!" Natsu was the first to speak up as he grabbed the man by the shoulders "Is she okay?! Is she going to be alright?! Tell me!"

"Sh- She's fine!" the doctor panicked when he saw that Natsu's body was burning up, literally "We have managed to ease her pain and removed anything that could harm her health. Right now, all she needs is some good rest and to take it easy for the next few days until her magic is fully restored"

Shoving the shivering doctor aside, Natsu rushed into the room, seeing the weak body of Wendy Marvell resting on the bed. She had let her hair down and was rubbing her temple, probably out of pain. When she saw Natsu barge in, a faint blush could be seen as she tried to hide her face behind her hair.

"Wendy! Thank god you're alive!" Natsu said, running up to her and hugging her tightly "I told you, right? You were gonna make it!"

"Aye" Wendy said quietly "Thank you for saving me, Natsu"

"We're friends, right? Allies. That's what we do"

Wendy blushed again as she tried to hide her face again. Friends. That was what Natsu considered everyone in the guild to be. They were just his friends and nothing more. Maybe, just maybe, that was also the reason why he hasn't actually gone out with Lucy or Lisanna yet. Natsu was simple minded and rash, though that is actually what makes him cute to Wendy's eyes.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that trouble just for me" Wendy sighed "If I had managed to avoid that sword, then nothing would have…"

"Hey, hey! Don't blame yourself!" Natsu's cheerful demeanour widened Wendy's smile "You were plenty strong, you know? I saw you beat up tons of those dark guild members"

"You did?!" Wendy said happily

"Yeah, you were real good out there!"

They continued on talking for a few minutes, carefully dodging anything that had to do with the final event that had occurred prior to Wendy passing out. Wendy wondered if Natsu even heard her confess, considering that he wasn't really focusing on her talking and was trying to get to the hospital as fast as he can. However, fate had other things in mind.

"So… that last thing you said…" Natsu said, suddenly having a distant expression on his face

"W-Which one?" Wendy stuttered, obviously trying to avoid the topic

"The one… Well, before you passed out"

"That… was nothing, really"

"Are you sure?" Natsu looked at her again with a kind smile "It didn't really sound like nothing"

"No, really! You should just forget about it"

Just as Wendy finished saying that, Natsu sat next to Wendy and looked at her in the eyes. This made Wendy slightly confused and blush. What was going on? What was Natsu thinking right now? Was her pathetic excuse for a confession really that important to him?

"Say it again" Natsu said with a wide grin

"Eh?"

"Say it again, what you said at that time!"

Wendy didn't really know what to do at this point of time. Here he was, her childhood crush, asking her to tell him that she loved her! Honestly saying, it felt like too much of a dream to actually be true. After a moment or two of silence, Wendy finally opened her mouth and spoke.

"I… I love you…" she whispered

"I'm sorry, what?" Natsu said, cupping his hand around his ear

"I love you, Natsu" Wendy's voice was slightly louder

"What?!"

"I am in love with Natsu Dragneel!" Wendy shouted out loud before quickly covering her mouth

Still blushing like mad, Wendy looked at Natsu who was still grinning happily. She didn't really understand what happened, not the least bit. Usually, there was only one reason why someone would ask a girl to tell them that she loved him, and Wendy was sure that Natsu didn't really feel that way about her. So why exactly is Natsu acting like this?

"You know, Wendy" Natsu said with his typical wide grin "I'm glad you actually feel that way about me"

"You do?" asked the younger girl questioningly

"Well, yeah!" Natsu said happily "After all, we've been friends for so long, and you're really cute too. I thought you had a thing for Romeo, you know?"

"But Romeo's just a guildmate!" Wendy laughed

"So… how long?" Natsu asked, receiving a confused stare from Wendy "How long have you, you know, liked me?"

"Since I was a kid, really" admitted the Sky Dragon Slayer "That time when you saved me when I was captured by Oracion Seis, I really admired you back then"

"You did? Huh, people always told me I was a terrible role model. Especially Erza"

The two of them laughed for a while before they realised that, all this time, someone else was in the room with them. Gajeel Redfox was standing by the door, chewing on some scrap metal as he stared at them with great ferocity. Wendy swore, if it wasn't for the fact that he was a member of fairy Tail, she would have died of fear right there and then.

"So, you two done playing couple?" he asked with a low growl

"Cheh, just because Levy's on an important mission and won't be back for a week, you're already cranky" Natsu teased, earning a death glare from the Iron Dragon Slayer

"You two better be quiet, and don't be too rough" Gajeel said with a straight expression as he walked away "Wendy's hurt, remember?"

Natsu laughed a slightly menacing laugh as he got up and punched his fists together, creating a bright flame in the process. All the while, Wendy's face flushed even more red at the thought of Gajeel actually listening to the whole conversation. She was just about to tell Natsu to not blow up the hospital when she felt something smack itself against my lips. It felt warm and moist, and it made her feel nice all over.

It was Natsu's lips.

Natsu was kissing her…!

"I love you too, Wendy" Natsu said with his signature wild grin "Now, I need to teach that metal bastard a thing or two!"

As he ran out the door, chasing after his fellow comrade, Wendy touched her lips, savouring the feeling of Natsu's kiss. She couldn't believe what just happened. Natsu Dragneel, the person Wendy had a crush on, had just kissed her! Not only that, he liked her back. Natsu loved her back! Wendy started smiling widely as she thought about how the other guild members would react to this.

Maybe getting attacked wasn't such a bad thing after all.

* * *

**Happy Valentine's Day, everybody!**


End file.
